Malcolm Brogdon Is The 2023 Sixth Man Of The Year

The Sixth Man of the Year award is heading to Boston. Prior to Thursday night’s slate of playoff games, it was announced that Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon beat out New York Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley and Milwaukee Bucks big man Bobby Portis won the award for the best bench player in the league.

Brogdon, who the Celtics acquired over the offseason in a trade with the Indiana Pacers, came off the bench in all 67 games in which he appeared and averaged 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 26 minutes a night while shooting 44.4 percent from three. This is not the first time that Brogdon has won an individual award for his play, as he was the 2017 Rookie of the Year. With the win, Brogdon is the first Celtic since Bill Walton in 1986 to earn the honor.

Quickley came off the bench in 60 of the 81 games that he played for the Knicks and turned into an important piece of Tom Thibodeau’s backcourt rotation. He put up career-best marks almost across the board, averaging 14.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 28.9 minutes per game while shooting 44.8 percent from the field and 37 percent from three. In addition to his offensive contributions, Quickley earned plaudits for his performance on defense.

Portis played in 70 games for the Bucks this season with 48 of them coming in a role off the bench. The former NBA champion averaged 14.6 points and a career-best 9.6 rebounds in 26 minutes a game for the 1-seed in the Eastern Conference.